


The Way To Malachor

by hey_there_demons



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Author is aware of the differences between Malachor and mustafar, Evie!Luke, Geography, History, Jfc these tags are a story by themselves i'm so sorry, Johnothan!Leia, M/M, Rick!Han, Smut free zone, and i fucking went for it, and my friend supported it, and they're gay af, author doesn't care, but who cares about historical accuracy, chewie is too good too pure, except for jabba who likes jabba?, han is emotionally constipated, i love it, i mean have you watched the mummy, i mean it's the 1920s, i saw the photoset, i've literally written a whole fanfic than do any sort of homework, it's convoluted and far fetched but what fanfic isn't??, jabba; wedge antillles; biggs darklighter and dax as minor characters, leia is treated with the respect she deserves, life - Freeform, luke is a history nerd and everyone loves him for it, minor character death yo, mispellings?, misspellings?, mummy!Vader, okay i do, procastination at its finest, so if you like those characters be warned, so many typos, spoilers: most of the characters die, taking liberties with literally everything, the fated mummy au, the list goes on and on, the one we've all been waiting for, various misspellings of the word egypt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-05-30 14:57:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6428869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hey_there_demons/pseuds/hey_there_demons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cairo, Egypt. 1925.<br/>An archaeologist, Leia Organa, gives her brother a box, hoping it will be something that will make her career. Her brother, Luke Skywalker, discovers a map to the lost city of Malachor, city of the Sith. They team up with hardened criminals, Han Solo and Chewbacca to uncover the dark history of the ancient city.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> We all needed it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet our heroes.

_Cairo, Eygpt. 1925._  
_Museum of Antiquites_  
  
It was quiet in the archives, he was the only one around. He balanced several books in one arm and held onto the ladder in one. His sandy hair kept getting in his eyes as he bent his head to read the book names, starting at the sight of a "T" among a a stack of "O"s.  
"Tuthmosis? How did you get here?" He asked the book as if it could reply. He turned, looking at the opposite aisle where a space waited to filled by another book beginning with "T". He contemplated the risk of trying to reach over to place the book on the shelf and decided that it wasn't too far. He placed the remaining pile of books down and reached over, keeping a tight hold on the ladder. He leant a little further, just about reaching the other side of the aisle when the ladder pulls away. He yelped unceremoniously, letting the book tumble to its demise on the floor and gripping the ladder with both hands. He whimpers, scared of falling to his death when the ladder shifts to face the open floor. So, when the ladder shifted again to face the shelf and dropped back to its original place, he let out a sigh of relief.  
  
Until he heard the creaking.  
  
Slowly, he was falling again, only taking down the entire bookshelf along with him. He dropped to the floor and scrambled into the middle of the room where he saw a domino effect take place. One by one the bookshelves fell, papers and books flying into the air until the last shelf hits the walls. He slowly takes off his reading glasses, surveying the mess he made with his clumsiness.  
"Oops." He whispered to himself, hoping his boss hadn't heard anything.  
" _Son of a Sith, Luke!_ " No such luck. He turned to see Mr Kenobi, his mentor and boss, storm in. "What did you do _this_ time?"  
"I am so sorry, Mr Kenobi, it was a complete accident." Luke murmured quietly, as if a schoolchild being chastised.  
"No, my dear boy, when Rameses destroyed Syria, _that_ was an accident." Mr Kenobi gestured to Luke angrily. "You are a _catastrophe_! Why do I put with you?" The question was meant to be rhetorical but it stirred a slight annoyance in Luke.  
"Well, sir, you 'put up' with me because I can read and write Ancient Eygptian, read heiroglyphics and hieratic and," He paused for a moment, his voice rising. "And I am the only person within a thousand miles who knows how to code and catalogue this library properly!"  
"I put up with you because your parents were my closest friends!" Kenobi snapped back before calming down. "May the force be with them." He sighed, dejectedly before looking at Luke's sad expression at the mention of his parents. "I don't care how long it takes, straighten up this mess!" He ordered, albeit softly. He left Luke alone in the room to sort through the mess. Luke was in a trance at the mention of Anakin and Padme, parents that he never got to know. He was only brought out of it at the sound of a clatter, startling in the silence.  
  
"Hello?" He called into the gallery, where the noise seemed to originate from. "Artoo, Threepio?" He asked for his co-workers but nobody responded. Luke jumped at the sound of another clatter and scuffling. He reached for the nearest thing he could use as a weapon, which happened to be small figurine of a woman. He moved closer to the noise, breathing heavily in the tense atmosphere. As he walked down the hallway he noticed one of the sarcophaguses were open and his heart starting beating heavily at the memory of Aunt Beru's stories, about mummies coming back to life and avenging their past lovers. He moved closer, sure that this was how he was going to die but unable to turn away from the sarcophagus. He leant forward and peered inside -  
  
" _Aargh!_ " He screamed as the mummy jumped out at him. Then high-pitched laughter. He scowled as Leia sat up with an arm around the corpse, laughing her ass off at him. "Leia, you-"  
"Bitch? Son of a Sith? Call me something original, Luke, for once." She jumped out of the sarcophagus and sits on the bench as Luke rights everything.  
"Have you no respect for the dead?" He asked angrily, but Leia only laughed.  
"Of _course_ , I do, little brother." She said. "Only, sometimes, I wish to join them."  
"Well, I wish you'd do it sooner or later, before you ruin my career as well as yours." He hissed as he pulled the lid back on the sarcophagus and brushes the dust off his hands.  
"As a matter of fact," Leia leant back against a pillar. "My career is on a high note, little brother."  
"High note, ha!" He shook his head and sighed sadly.  
"Are you okay, Luke?" Leia's tone was serious, knowing immediately her twin was upset.  
"Not exactly, Leia." He turned to her. "Well, you see, Benbridge Scholars have rejected my application _again_ and I've made quite a mess in the library." He twisted his head back to the room, wringing his hands.  
"Come here." She patted the space next to her. "I've got something for you." She starts scrounging in her pockets.  
  
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Leia, if you've brought another worthless trinket for me to try and se- _where did you get that?_ " He asked, taking the box out of her hands. She grins mischieviously, knowing her brother's eternal weakness for ancient artifacts.  
"Got it from a dig, in Thebes." She lied, flawlessly. "I haven't found something in my entire life, Luke, _please_ tell me I've found something." Luke ignores her for a moment, touching the various slats, hoping for something to click.  
  
_Click!_  
  
The box unfolds and Luke's expression is one of excitement as he pulls out a folded map.  
"Leia...I think you've found something." They share a grin and run to take the artifacts up to Mr Kenobi.  
  
"Do you see there?" Luke points Mr Kenobi's attention to the insignia in the top right hand corner. "It's the royal cartouche of Seti the First, I'm sure of it." Mr Kenobi nodded slowly.  
"Perhaps." He says, dismissively and Luke was miffed at his callousness.  
"Two questions." Leia interrupted his fuming. "Who was Seti the First? And was he rich?"  
"Leia, how can you not know who Seti the First was?" Luke asked, aghast.  
"Not my area of expertise, little brother." She waved him off. _Your area of expertise is whatever tomb is full of gold._ Luke thought, sarcastically.  
"Seti the First was last Pharoah of the Last Kingdom, said to be the richest man in all of Egypt."  
"I like him already." Leia grinned at the thought of finding his tomb, filled with gold.  
"Seti was also said to be a Sith."  
"I like him significantly less." Leia's face darkened. "So is the map leading to his tomb?"  
"No." Luke paused, suddenly unsure of himself. "Sir, you see, I think that the map leads to...Malachor." Mr Kenobi freezes before laughing.  
"Oh, my dear boy, we are scholars, not treasure hunters. Malachor is a myth." He continues laughing as Leia stands up.  
"Are we talking about _the_ Malachor?" Leia asked seriously, examining the map. "As in, _city-of-the-Sith_ Malachor?"  
"Yes." Luke answered quickly. "Where it is said the Sith placed all their riches and knowledge. Where..." He trailed off, remember Aunt Beru's stories. "Where Jedi go to die."  
"Right, right, my parents told me the story." Leia said. "A powerful Jedi, whatshisname, fought against his brother who had turned to the Sith. They both died and-"  
" _Enough!_ " Mr Kenobi shouted, startling them both. They watch as the map lights fire and Mr Kenobi yelps, dropping it. They both drop to their knees, patting the map to put out the fire.  
"You burnt it!" Leia cried. "You burnt off the piece with the lost city."  
"All for the best, I'm sure." Mr Kenobi waved a hand before reaching for the box. Luke swiped it off the table, angrily. "Listen to me, you two, many people have gone in search of Malachor, little have returned."  
"You burnt my map." Leia said, miserably, still on the floor.  
"It was probably a fake, anyway, Miss Organa." He turned to Luke, who had pocketed the box. "I'm surprised, Mr Skywalker, that you could be so easily fooled." The twins stormed out without another word, leaving Mr Kenobi alone in his office. He took off his glass and rubbed his eyes, wearily. "I'm sorry, my friends." He spoke to an old photograph, presenting younger versions of himself, Padme, Anakin and Ashoka.  
  
_Cairo Prison_  
  
The Egyptian sun beats down on the two siblings as they rush through the prison, arguing loudly.  
"You told me you found it on a dig in Thebes!-"  
"-I was mistaken!-"  
"-You lied to me!-"  
"-I lie to everyone, what makes you so special?-"  
"-Leia, I am your brother!-"  
"-Which makes you more gullible!-"  
"-You stole it from a drunk in a local Cantina.-"  
"-Picked his pocket actually.-"  
"Leia!-"  
  
"Here's your fellow." The warden pointed to the empty cell.  
"And what is this man in prison for?" Luke asked, politely.  
"I asked him when I was told you were coming." He replied.  
" _And?_ " Luke prompted and the warden grinned.  
"He told me he was just looking for a good time." The door bursts open and a scruffy-looking man is pushed through by guards. He takes a while to right himself but Luke recoils at the sight of him. The man caught sight of Luke and dragged his eyes up and down his body.  
"Who's the pill?" He asked, his voice rough like sandpaper.  
"Pill?" Luke asked indignantly. _How dare he?_  
"My brother." Leia speaks up and the man glances at her before coming back to Luke.  
"Well..." He smirked. "You're not a total loss. Han Solo, at your service." He said, sarcastically and Luke fumed. The warden shouts to someone before turning back to the pair.  
"I'll be back in a moment." He walked off and the two step closer to the cell.  
"You see, we've found your puzzlebox." Leia tapped Luke and he pulled the box. "And we've come to ask you about it." Han scoffed, pulling back from the bars.  
"No." He shook his head. "You didn't _find_ it, you _stole_ it, sweetheart." Leia shrugged and Han smiled. "Good job, kid, didn't even realise it was gone." He turned to Luke again, unable to taking his eyes off him for long. "And you've come to ask me about Malachor."  
"How do you know the box pertains to Malachor?" Luke asked, suspiciously.  
"'Cause that's where I found it, kid." He grinned as the twins' startled in shock.  
"You were _there_?" Luke's face brightened as he leant closer, close enough for Han to see his freckles.  
"I swear. Want to know where it is?" He teased him, beckoning him to come closer. "Really wanna know?" He asked as Luke pressed himself against the bars and nodded. He grabbed his face, landing a hard kiss on the lips. " _Then get me the hell outta here._ " He hissed as he pushed Luke away, getting dragged off into the separate room. Luke flushed heavily as Leia grabbed the warden.  
"Where are they taking him?" He heard her ask, sharply.  
"To be hanged." He told her, casually and the twins expressed their shock.  
  
Luke stood at the front of the yelling crowd as Solo and another shaggy-haired man were dragged onto the gallows, where two nooses lie in wait.  
"Come on, Leia." He glanced up at the balcony, nervously where his sister and the warden were bargaining for the man's life. He dragged his eyes back to Solo who was staring back at him. His eyes asked a question - _are you getting us outta here?_ Luke responded in turn - _we're trying._  
"Any last requests, Solo?" The hangman asked him.  
"Yeah, I'd like you to let me go." Solo snipped, winking at Luke who blushed again. _Gallows humour? Really?_ He glanced back up at Leia who seemed to be in a heated argument which came to a point when the warden called for the trapdoor to be opened.  
" _No!_ " Luke screamed, sprinting towards the gallows, only to be pulled back by guards. "Let me go this _instant_!" He yelled. "Leia!" She continued yelling at the warden, who yelled back. " _Solo!_ " Solo was dangling, choking alongside his companion.  
" _Cut him down!_ " The warden shouted and the crowd froze. Luke took this opportunity to pull out a sword from a guard, cutting both ropes in two quick swoops. Solo and his companion heave and Luke tries to pull them to their feet. Solo and Luke share a glance and Luke blushes again.  
"Luke Skywalker, pleasure to meet you." He stuck his hand out for the companion to shake.  
"Chewbacca, likewise." He choked out, grabbing his hand. Luke tries to hide the pain when Chewbacca shakes his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pill - 1920s slang for a boring man (sorta)  
> This is un-beta-ed so forgive me for my sins (a.k.a typos)


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie and the unwelcome warden take on the desert.

_Giza Port_

  
"For _heaven's_ sake, Leia, he's not going to show!" Luke paced angrily as his sister flicked through a magazine.  
"Calm down, Luke. I'm sure he's a man of his word." She murmured, bored of waiting.  
"We spent _£500_ on a filthy scoundrel, only for him to scuttle off with his shaggy friend and-"  
"A filthy scoundrel?" Han piped up from behind and Luke spun to berate him, stopping when he saw how _clean_ Han looked. "His shaggy friend? Anyone we know?" Luke didn't answer, distracted by how _dashing_ Han was without all the dirt and a new haircut.  
"What a _beautiful_ day, don't you think, Mr Solo?" Leia asked, charmingly. "Mr Chewbacca, would you help me with our bags?" Chewbacca shrugged and scooped Leia's bag while she asked him more about Malachor. Luke cleared his throat and tapped Han's shoulder nervously.  
"Mr Solo, can you look me in the eye and tell me that you're telling us the truth?" He asked. "Because if you aren't, I'm warning you-"  
"You're warning me?" Han repeated, incredulously. "Listen, kid, our whole garrison believe in that Malachor shit so much, that without orders, we marched across Libya and into Egypt to find that damn city. And guess what we found instead?" He asked, not waiting for Luke to answer. "Sand and blood." Luke looked down, ashamed. "I'll take your bags." He glanced back up to see Han walk past Leia, who he acknowledge with a formal "ma'am".  
"I completely agree, Luke." She said sarcastically. "A complete scoundrel, nothing to like at all." He gave her _shut up_ look which she replied to with a mischievous grin.  
"Good morning, sir, ma'am." They both looked to their left where the awful warden was making their way towards them.  
"Oh, what are _you_ doing here?" Luke asked, not masking his disgust.  
"He insisted." Leia rolled her eyes. "Protecting his bloody investment."  
  
_River Nile_  
  
Luke was sitting at a table that overlooked the moonlit river, staring wistfully into its waters. He missed Artoo and Threepio already, and it was going to be a while before he could write to them. Han dropping a gunny-sack on the table with a loud clatter made him jump.  
"Sorry." He pulled a face. "Didn't mean to scare you."  
"The only thing that _scares_ me about you, Mr Solo, is your manners." Luke deadpanned, leaning back over the edge.  
"Ah, you're still pissed that I kissed you, aren't you?"  
"If you call _that_ a kiss." Luke shrugged, not turning to look at him.  
"If you'd like to give a second chance, I'm more than willing to oblige." This made him turn towards him, affronted.  
"Mr Solo, I'm not sure what kind of man- _what is all that?_ " He asked, referring to various weapons strewn out across the table. "Did I miss something?" He picked up a small pistol. "Are we going into battle?" Han took the gun out of his hand and started dismantling it.  
"Kid, there's something under that sand. Something evil. And I'm going to be prepared for it." He said darkly and Luke bit his lip.

"Well, I'm going to find an ancient artifact - a book." Luke said, matter-of-factly. "One that pertains to the legend of the Jedi."  
"The Book of the Light." Han supplied and Luke was surprised at his knowledge.  
"You know your history." He grinned, gleeful. Maybe they had something in common.  
"I know my treasure - the Book is meant to be made out of pure gold." Maybe not.  
"Yes, well, I don't care about that. Although my sister thinks there's treasure." He could see Han losing interest in the conversation and pushed for more time.  
"Speaking of your sister, she's gambling away the rest of her money right now." That caught him offguard and he rose quickly.  
"Oh for _heaven's_ sake, Leia." He hesitated before leaving, turning back to Han. "By the way," He waited for Han to look up at him. "Why did you kiss me?"  
"Well, I was about to be hanged. It seemed like a good idea." He shrugged casually and Luke stormed off, furious, bumping into a perplexed Chewbacca.  
"You're not very good with men, Han." He chuckled at Han's confused face before taking Luke's seat.  
"Laugh it up, fuzzball." He snarked before roughly cleaning another gun.  
  
"Leia!" Luke shouted as she came into view.  
"Luke, why don't you sit?" She grinned. "We could use another player." She gestured to the table which was surrounded by four men. "Gentlemen, this is my brother Luke. Luke, these gentlemen are heading our way."  
" _Our way?_ " He repeated.  
"Malachor." A spectacled gentleman supplied. "Wedge Antilles, sir." He stood up to shake his hand.  
"Pleasure." He replied, before turning to Leia. "Try not to gamble all our money away, will you?" Leia saluted before watching Luke scuttle off.  
"What a killjoy!" She laughed. "Now whose deal is it?"  
  
Luke brushes his teeth in daze, still thinking about the _incident_ , he's taken to calling it, with Han in Cairo Prison.  
"Oh, for _heaven's_ sake, Luke!" He shouted at himself in the mirror. "It was crappy kiss anyway." He turned around and saw a whirl of black. A man dressed in black robes pressed him up against the wall, holding a knife to his throat.  
"Where is the map?" He grunted out and Luke was petrified. He tried to speak, to force the words out of his throat but he couldn't. The man pressed the knife harder against his skin and Luke whimpered. " _Where is it?_ " He glanced down to the coffee table where the map lay innocently. "And the key?" Luke shook his head, confused. _What key?_ The knife made a small slit against Luke's throat and he screamed.  
"Luke!" Han burst in, gun in hand. The man spins Luke and holds him out in front of him. "Let him go." He ordered. "You don't want him." The man laughed and Luke took this opportunity to grab the candle from the coffee table, jabbing the hot flame into the man's eye.  
  
Han grabbed him and pulled him out the room as the man fell into a lantern, spilling kerosene everywhere and fire erupted.  
"What about the map?" Luke asked, trying to get back to the room.  
"I'm the map, kid." Han tapped his temple. "It's all up here."  
"How comforting." Luke said, dryly. Han threw him a look and shoved him in front of himself.  
"Come on, there's bound to be more of those guys." He cocked a gun, handing it over to Luke. "Do you still have the box?"  
"Yes, it's here." He reached into his pocket, pulling it out.  
"Good, keep it safe." He caught Luke holding the gun, gingerly. "Do you know how to use that thing?"  
"In theory, yes." Luke nodded and Han thought he looked pretty cute in his reading glasses.  
"You were great back there, by the way." He commented, nervously. "With the candle." Luke grinned and opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"Solo!" Leia shouted as she came closer with Chewbacca. "Pirates have taken over the ship!" _Pirates?_  
"Dressed in black? Swords and knives?" Luke asked, examining Leia for any wounds.  
"Yeah, how did you...?"  
"Luke was just attacked in his room." Han said. "They were after the map."  
"Are you okay?" She gripped his arms, worried.  
"Fine, thanks to Mr Solo."  
"Forgive me but I think it's time to abandon ship." Chewbacca pulled out a section of the railing and Han dragged Luke to the edge.  
"Can you swim?" He asked.  
"Yes, I can swim if the occasion calls for it!"  
"Trust me." Han took Luke up in his arms. "It calls for it!" And he dragged Luke off the boat.  
" _Solo!_ "  
  
Han, Chewie, Leia, Luke and the warden dragged themselves out the water, Luke's pajamas clinging to him tightly. Han notices and smirked in approval - _he looked good_. He was shouting at Han, saying they've lost everything - the equipment, the map, _clothes_ and Leia shook her head, wet strands of hair clinging to her face. Someone called over to him from across the river.  
"Hey, Solo!" Jabba Hutt waved his arms around. _When did that slimy piece of crap show up?_ "Looks like I got all the horses!" Han looked around and smirked.  
"Hey, Jabba!" He shouted back. "Looks like you're on the wrong side of the river!" Jabba fell silent, also noticing, before starting to curse excessively.  
  
_Tatooine Trading Post_  
  
Chewbacca and Han bartered for camels while Luke waited outside off a shack for Leia who had been taken in for new clothes. Luke was, more or less, dead tired. Having to travel on foot to the trading post had taken most of his energy and under the warm sun in soft linens, Luke was slowly drifting off. Until, that is, Han kicked his foot.  
"Kid, wake up, we got the camels." Han blocked the sun so Luke could glare at him.  
"For the worst price _ever_." Chewbacca rolled his eyes. "The price of these fleabags." Leia came out then, wearing a dress made out of cotton.  
"What did you have to do to get that?" Han asked as three little girls ran out behind her with elaborate braids.  
"Leia's a genius with the hair." Luke got up, smiling at the three girls playing in the sand.  
  
_Deep in the Tatooine Desert_  
  
"I hate these animals." Leia announced. "They're so disgusting." The warden then rides up next to her, savagely eating piece of meat. She shared a disgusted glance with Han. "Never mind."  
"I think they're cute." Luke said, patting his camel's head and Han smiled. No one spoke for a while as they followed Han and Chewbacca - _call me Chewie, you earned it_ \- into the majestic desert. As the sun starts to rise on the second day of riding, Han stopped, looking out at the dunes where a black mass were watching him. We meet again, fellas. He turned back to his group. Chewie watching a drifting Luke warily, who was swinging precariously with the rhythm of his camel's movements and Leia was fast asleep, leaning on hers for support. God knows what the warden was doing, but Han did not want to find out. He continued riding.  
  
" _Luke!_ " Han called him to the front of their riding party and pointed out the horizon. "We're here."  
"Are you sure, Solo?" He asked, looking out and seeing nothing but heat waves radiating off the dunes.  
"Trust me, kid." He winked again and Luke was happy to drowned in red sunlight so Han couldn't see his blush. He avoided his gaze and then jumped at the sight of several skeletons posing in grotesque tableuxs.  
"What in the blazes happened here?" He asked.  
"Malachor happened, Luke." Chewie responded gravely and Luke shivered, despite the heat. He didn't like the unsettling feeling that rested in his stomach but he knew he couldn't turn back. Only cowards turn back and he was no coward. "We got company." Chewie gestured to another dune way off the side where the expedition came into view. They were little under 100 feet away from them but they could still see the judging looks, after all, they had quite a few workers with them, along with horses and correct equipment. And what did Luke have? Four people, three of which were actually useful, three guns and a small equipment bag. Oh, and five camels.  
"We're screwed." He murmured to himself and Han smirked at him.  
"Ye, of little faith, Luke." He stared out of at the horizon, waiting for something - what, Luke didn't know - but it seemed that Mr Hutt on the other dune was waiting for the same thing so he didn't ask. He'd find out sooner or later.

Slowly - slowly enough for Luke to think it was a mirage - buildings emerged, blocking the rising sun and forming intimidating masses that towered over them. Pillars of men draped in cloaks rose from the sand and a swarm of bees erupted in Luke's stomach. _Malachor_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying. Also this is unbeta-ed as well, so forgive me for my mistakes.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes sift through Malachor's caves and find something unexpected.

_Malachor_  
  
It was imposing and alluring at the same time. Luke was entranced and nervous, having seeing something that only haunted his childhood dreams. He sped his camel forward, not wanting to wait another second.  
"Luke, wait!" Chewie's shouts fell on deaf ears as the wind rushed past Luke's ears.  
"Kid, hold up!" Han was much closer, reaching for Luke's harness. "Kid, you gotta wait."  
"For what?" Luke asked angrily. "It's _there_ , Solo." He was brimming with impatience. At this point, a low rumbling emitted from Malachor, cutting them both off. Sharp points came out of the sands, like teeth, guarding the city.  
"For that." Han answered smugly, before riding his camel into the city, being mindful of the spikes. _You smug son of a Sith_. Luke fumed - he seemed to do that a lot when Han was involved - and rode after, trailing after Leia and Chewie.  
  
"That thing gives me the creeps." Leia said, staring down at the grotesque face of Darth Bane as the sand beside it collapses, making way for a hole.  
"Be nice, that _thing_ saved mine and Chewie's asses." Han wagged a finger at her while Luke bustled around excitedly, pushing up his new reading glasses to read his small book.  
"That _thing_ is getting me excited." Luke said, checking the rope that Han secured around the face.  
"The things that get you excited." Han quipped and he gave him a dirty look. "Kidding." He rappels off into the hole, dropping close to fifty feet below the surface. He tugged the rope to give the signal it was safe. Next cam down Luke, who - Han suspected - was _far_ too excited to let anyone else come down first. As soon as his feet dropped to the ground, he scrambled up to reach a mirror and started to tilt it. "What the hell are you doing?"  
"An old Egyptian trick." Luke grunted out as the mirror moved stiffly. "You'll see."

 _Inside one of Malachor's underground caves_  
  
The room flooded with light, reflected by the several mirrors dotted around the room, starting with the one Luke had pushed to reflect the sunlight in.  
"I gotta admit." Han shrugged as Luke jumped down. "That's a pretty neat trick." He watched as Luke's face filled with wonderment. "What is it?"  
"We're going to enter a room no one has entered for thousands of years." Luke shivered. "I got chills." Han laughed.  
"Well, kid -" He was interrupted by Leia, who was shouting for Luke.  
"In here!" Luke yelled back. "Come on, Leia."  
"Blame the warden." She grumbled as she came into view. "The silly little man is scared of heights."  
"Moron." Luke growled. "Come _on_ , we have to hurry." Han was discovering that Luke was incredibly impatient. "We're about to enter the burial chambers." Leia moved significantly faster, peering over Luke's shoulder, excitedly.  
"Why didn't you say that sooner?" Leia moved in front, closer to Han.  
"Burial chambers?" He asked.  
"It's where the fallen Sith were laid to rest." Leia replied. "And where my brother believes the Book of Light is buried."  
"It has to be here." Luke piped up, rushing forward. "There's nowhere else it could be." He said with such conviction that Han was determined to find the damn thing. If it wasn't here, god knows what would happen to Luke. They walked further into the cavern, the light fading away and the team relying on torches. "It's meant to be symbolic." Luke had said. "The Sith were born in Darkness so die in Darkness."

The cavern opened up into a labyrinth, several hallways stacked with sarcophaguses lay out in front of them. Luke opened his little book again.  
"It says here that the Book should be buried in the sarcophagus of Darth Bane." He read.  
" _Should?_ "  
" _In the sarcophagus?_ " Chewie and Han spoke over each other and the twins smirked in unison.  
"Welcome to Ancient Egypt, boys." Leia quipped, before surveying the labyrinth. "Bane should be buried in the centre, right, Luke?"  
"Right. So if we keep heading straight, we'll reach it sooner to later." He pulled out his father's compass. "This way." He lead the expedition, relying on Han's guiding hand on his shoulder to stop him from bumping into a tomb.  
"Who _are_ these guys?" Chewie whispered as he glanced around at the surrounding sarcophaguses.  
"Fallen Sith, Chewie." Luke said. "The more powerful you were, the deeper you were buried." He paused. "The Sith were big on symbolism." No one spoke except for the warden who was quickly hushed. "Nobody cares about gold." Luke told him.  
"I kind of care about gold." Leia contradicted.  
"Me too." Han said.  
"I'm kind of into the history, actually." Chewie shrugged and Luke scowled at them. Suddenly, he stopped, letting Han bump softly into his back.  
"What is it, kid?" Luke was silent and Han shook him. "Luke? Are you okay?"  
"We're here." He breathed out, looking up at the torso that lead to the Darth Bane head poking out of the sand on the surface. He laughed gleefully, rushing forward. "I can't believe it! Leia, we made it!"

There was a sudden clatter that called to his attention and Han, Chewie and Leia pulled out their guns. They backed up against the leg and waited for the thudding footsteps to get closer. When they could hear the breathing of the intruders, they leapt out.  
"Oh, for god's sake, Organa, you scare the bejeezus out of us!" It was the other expedition, who also had their guns up.  
"Likewise." Leia drawled, keeping her gun up. One of the leaders smirked, pointing their gun at her.  
"This is our statue, _friend_." He said, threateningly and Luke grabbed her free hand, ready to pull her away.  
"Don't see your name on it, _pal_." Chewie moved in front of them, tall and dangerous. The other group seemed rattled but didn't lower their guns. Luke glanced back at the statue, noticing something before reaching for Han.  
"Okay, children." He lowered several of the other groups' gun. "If we're going to play with each other, we must learn to share." He stared at Han, willing him to understand. "There are other places to dig." Han slowly lowered his gun, mostly due to being caught in Luke's stare, and turned back to other men.  
"All yours, _buddy_." He smiled before backing off, following Luke.

_Directly below_

"According to my observations," Luke said as he hacked away at the ceiling with a chisel. "We should come up right between the statue's legs."  
"Where the sarcophagus will be." Leia supplied, as she too hacked away.  
"Yes, when those imbeciles go to sleep, we'll be able to yank the Book right from under them."  
"Are you sure you can find the secret compartment?" Han and Luke raised an eyebrow at him as if to say - _have you seen me? Of course I can._  
"Hey, has anybody seen where the warden went?" Chewie asked, looking around and the others shrugged, continuing with their work.  
  
"Let me get this straight." Han asked, as Luke shed off his sweat-covered shirt. _I'm not._ "They jab a red hot poker up your nose and pull out your brains through your nostrils?"  
"It's called mummification, Solo." Luke replied, continuing to hack away at the ceiling while Han observed him from his resting place.  
"Chewie, if I die, never put me down for mummification." Chewie grunted in approval and he jabbed hard at the ceiling. Suddenly a large part of it gives way and falls, dust billowing around.  
" _Luke!_ " Leia shouted in shock. "Luke, are you okay?" As the dust cleared, they heard coughing adn saw that Luke had been pushed back by Chewie and they were both wrapped around each other.  
"Is this a bad time?" Han quipped, slightly jealous at the sight. Chewie rolled his eyes and pulled Luke up, who moved directly to the sarcophagus that had dropped from the ceiling.  
"Oh my god." He brushed the dust off and examined the heiroglyphics.  
"Is it Bane?" Leia drummed her fingers against the lid. Luke's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he shook his head.  
"It can't be..." Luke whispered to himself. "He's not..."  
"Kid, who is it?" Chewie asked and Luke gazed up at him in a daze.  
"Vader."  
  
"You're joking." Leia pushed him out of the way to read the hieroglyphs for herself. "What the hell is _he_ doing here? I thought you said no one has entered here in thousands of years." Luke sank to the floor, gazing into the far distance.  
"Kid, are you okay?" Han sat next to him, wrapping an arm around him. "Who the hell is Vader? I thought we were looking for Bane." The twins were silent, Luke still in a daze and Leia glaring at the heiroglyphics, willing them to change. "Is anyone gonna answer me?"  
"Luke...we need to open it." Leia spoke quietly, quieter than Han and Chewie had ever heard her speak. Luke wrapped his arms around himself. "Luke?" There were a rattle as a clutter of dust fell through the ceiling and cheering was heard.  
"It seems our friends have found something."  
  
_Our heros' camp_  
  
The twins were still in a daze, staring into the fire. Chewie and Han shared a worried glance, then at their untouched food. Han sat down next to Luke.  
"Hey." He whispered quietly, nudging him. "What's up? Our five-star gourmet food not good enough for you?" He gestured to the porridge that they had brought from the trading post and Luke glanced up at him, tears filling his eyes. "Hey, kid, it was a joke, I know the food leaves something to be -" Luke dropped his head onto his shoulder and Han jumped.  
"Vader...he was a Jedi who turned to the Sith." Luke said, tonelessly, without the enthusiasm that he usually had when speaking about history.  
"He was also the man that killed our father." Leia added, in the same toneless voice.  
"Then what's he doing here?" Chewie asked softly, knowing that this would be a rough subject for them both.  
"I don't know." Luke said. "This shouldn't have been entered in thousands of years. It was only twenty five years ago Vader died."  
"Maybe the Sith-"  
"There is no Sith, not anymore." Luke growled out, pulling away from Han. "They're all dead, that's something my father made sure of."  
"Someone buried him here, kid." Han pointed out and Luke pulled himself to his feet before going to storm off. "Luke-"

"Hey, Skywalker!" Antilles walked up to them, behind him several workers carrying a gurney. "He one of yours?" He gestured to the limp body of the warden and Luke ran to check his body.  
"He's dead." He said, in shock, examining his body for wounds. "How?"  
"No idea. We found him on one of the lower floors." Antilles shrugged off the warden's bag and handing it over to Leia. "He had this on him." Luke thanked him before he left back to his own camp.  
"What a mess." Leia lamented and Luke couldn't help but agree.  
"What do you think killed him?" Luke asked and Chewie shrugged.  
"Maybe this place really _is_ cursed." A gust of wind made the campfire flicker and Chewie and Leia shared a nervous look.  
"Oh, you two!" Luke laughed at their expense.  
"Do you not believe in curses, Luke?" Chewie asked.  
"No I believe if I can see it and I can touch it, then it's real. That's what I believe." He said, matter-of-factly, watching as Chewie cocked his gun nervously.  
"I believe in being prepared."  
" _Everyone, take cover!_ " They heard Han shout as men on horses flooded through the city entrance, cutting down several workers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta-ed yet again


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long two days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exposition, yo

" _Everyone, take cover!_ " Han yelled and Chewie immediately jumped over Leia and Luke, shielding them between him and the sand.   
"Chewie, I can't see!" Luke only heard with an ominous hum and buzz of the attackers weapons and various shouts. He tried wiggling out of Chewie's embrace but it was no good. "Chewie, _let me go!_ "  
"Chewie, look out!" Leia screamed as some sort of _laser sword_ swung out of nowhere at three but was blocked by Han at the last minute. The trio scrambled to their feet and Luke was in awe of the weapon. _What is that thing?_   
"Chewie, get them outta here!" Han shouted as he fought against the attacker.  
"Han-"  
" _Go!_ " Luke struggled against Chewie as he dragged them off, breaking free and grabbing a shotgun. "Luke, what the hell are you doing?" Han shouted as Luke aimed for their attacker. He missed, hitting sand, but this provided the opportunity for Han to knock him out and for the sword to deactivate. In the brief interlude, before someone else approached them, Luke surveyed the scene.

The attackers were dressed in robes, waving the same laser swords but in various different colours around. Luke looked in horror as the swords sliced through workers as if through butter. _Who are they?_   
"For god's sake, Luke!" Han grabbed him and they ducked to the floor. "Why aren't you with Chewie?"  
"A _thank you_ would suffice!" Luke grabbed the hilt from its place next to the unconscious man. "What _is_ this?" Before Han could respond, another man attacked them. Luke gripped the hilt, tightly and something gave way - a button - meaning the blue laser pierced the man as he pulled back. Luke screamed as the man dropped next to him and there was a sudden silence. 

"There will be no more killing!" A man shouted in English. Luke and Han peered over the low wall they hid behind. "Leave here - or die." Han got up, sharing a glance with the man while his men cleared the camps. Luke staggered to get up and Han turned to help him up.   
"Are you okay?" He asked and Luke nodded, not letting him go.   
"Yes, yes, just a little...shaken." He murmured, staring up at him. "Just give me a moment."  
"That just proves it!" Antilles yelled as he helped one of his partners to his feet. "There has to be gold somewhere! For them to protect the city _that much_ , there has be treasure under this sand."   
"These are desert people, Mr Antilles." Leia told him, brushing sand off her dress. "They value water, not gold." She looked out among the dunes. "Who were they anyway?" Luke noticed that Han and Chewie shifted nervously.  
"Friends of yours?" He asked.  
"Tell them, Solo!" Jabba Hutt - _the slimy son of a Sith_ \- shouted at him. "It's the least you can do after leading them to their deaths!"  
"And what about you?" Han yelled back. "Don't act like you're so damn honest, leaving us to _die_ in this goddamn place!"  
"-He _killed_ one of them, Solo-"  
"-You keep your mouth _shut_ , you hear?-"  
"-Are you so _stupid_ that-"  
" _Enough!_ " Luke yelled over their squabbling. He turned to Jabba. "Mr Hutt, maybe you should go tell _your_ camp why they've lost more than half their workers and stop shouting at my guide." Jabba grumbled and stormed past him.  
"Good going, kid-"  
"What the _hell_ was that?" Luke turned on Han. "Who were those people? And why did they attack us?"  
"Listen, kid-"  
"No, _you_ listen." Luke growled. "I trusted you with my life, _with my sister's life_ and all you've done is withhold information. I won't take it anymore!"   
"Kid," Han's tone was significantly softer. "Let's just go back to camp. I'll tell you everything." Luke glared at him as he walked ahead and Leia moved closer.  
"Damn, Luke." She let out a low whistle. "I've never seen you that angry. He must really get your blood boiling." There was a hint of innuendo in her tone and he scowled.  
"Stop it, Leia." He looked at her before nodding to the camp. "Come on, let's get answers."

" _That's ridiculous!_ "  
" _They don't exist anymore!_ " Luke and Leia yelled in unison as Han told them who their attackers were.  
"It's true. They took down our entire garrison." Chewie stared into the fire. "Jabba, the scum, shut us out of the main temple and we had nowhere to go."   
"We fell through the sand by the statue of Bane." Han added. "We hid out there until dark."  
"That's ridiculous!" Luke repeated. "The Jedi don't exist, they died out when the Sith did."   
"We're only telling what we know." Han put his hands up in surrender.   
"Speaking of which, what about our old buddy Vader?" Chewie asked. "We need to open that casket sooner or later."  
"It's been a long day." Leia said and Luke snorted.  
"Understatement of the century." He shook his head. "Vader, the Jedi, the war- _the warden!_ " Luke scrambled for the warden's bag.   
"What about him?" Leia asked, sitting up next to him.  
"There has to be some clue as to how he died." He reached into the bag, scrounging around. "Antilles sa- _aargh!_ " He pulled his hand out, making the others jump.  
" _What is it?_ " Luke examined his hand, where a small cut had been made, before looking back in the bag.  
"A broken bottle." Luke pulled it out and hummed in appreciation. "Seagrams." He pulled the cork out. "Well, he may have been awful but he had good taste." He winked at Leia who laughed, holding her hand out for the bottle.  
  
Leia passed out, an effect of drinking too much, and Luke snickered as he pushed her on to her side to drop her from drowning in her own vomit. Chewie fell asleep long ago, and only Han and Luke remained awake, taking turns to take a swig from the bottle. Han held it to him but Luke shook his head.  
"Unlike my sister, _sir_ , I know when to quit." Luke wobbled, still very much drunk and Han sniggered.  
"And unlike your sister, _sir_ , you I don't get." Han moved closer to him and Luke smirked.  
"I know." He said, swinging his arms around. "What's a place like me doing in a boy like this?" Han bent his head to hide his laughter.  
"Something like that."  
"Well, you see, Egypt is in my blood." He pulled out a locket from under his shirt. "My father, Anakin, was a Jedi warrior stationed in Egypt and he loved it so much he stayed." He pointed to the small picture of a man with chiselled features and brown hair, that only held a small resemblance to Luke. "He then married my mother, Padme." He pointed excitedly to the woman in the other picture whom Luke looked much more like. "She was so kind. She was a leader of a small village, Naboo and my father was so taken by her and she, him. They married and had me and Leia. My mother died in childbirth, it broke my father - he was near suicidal when he faced Vader." Luke's soft features darkened. "Me and Leia were split up." He couldn't stop talking. "I came to Tatooine actually to live with my Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen, with Mr Kenobi as my godfather and Leia got adopted by a General, who went on to become a leader of a village called Alderaan, not far from here actually." He glanced at Leia, sleeping peacefully. "Our adoptive families were killed in the Palpatine Massacres. Kenobi and Ashoka - Leia's godmother, reunited us when we were nineteen and the rest was history." Han was quiet through his monologue but Luke was only slightly to drunk to care for embarrassment.  
"Okay..." Han slowly processed the new information. "I get your father - the Jedi warrior." He pointed to the picture. "I get your mother - the leader." He pointed to the other picture. "And I get your sister - the archeologist." He pointed to a sleeping Leia before turning his eyes back to Luke - who had shifted closer. "But where do you fit in?" Luke looked offended at this and stood his feet.  
"I may not be a _warrior_ , or a _leader_ , or _treasure hunter_ , Mr Solo!" He slurred. "But I am proud of what I am!"  
"And what is that?" Luke grinned goofily at his question and lifted his head up in pride.   
"I...am a librarian!" He sat back down, almost on Han's lap. 

"Solo, I-I want to kiss you."  
"You're drunk, kid." Han stiffened, pushing himself away from Luke.  
"What does _that_ have to do with anything?"  
"It's messing with your mind." Han tapped his forehead as he sorted his bedding out to sleep on. "If you really want to kiss me, kiss me in the morning." Luke grumbled as he stomped to his bed.  
"I will. Goodnight, Solo."  
"If you're gonna kiss me, you best call me Han."   
"Han."  
Han stared up at the stars as Luke's breathing evened out. _He wants to kiss me?_ He thought of Luke's face when he said that and he shivered. _Is he for real? Or is he just drunk?_ His head started to throb in pain and Han groaned. _They were all going to have the biggest hangovers ever._

 _The next morning  
  
_ The quartet moved slowly in the morning, mostly due to their hangover, partly in dread. Today, they were going to open Vader's sarcophagus.   
"I can't _believe_ you got me that drunk." Luke groused as they approached the chamber.   
"Don't blame me." Leia grunted. "I don't even remember being there."  
"Well, neither do I, _thank you_." Han shot him a hurt look. "What?" He asked as he placed the opened puzzlebox into the key slot.  
"Do you not remember anything from last night?" He held his breath until Luke responded.  
"No...should I?" Luke gazed at him, worried. Han hid his pain with a cocky smirk.  
"Well, you did tell me it was the best you ever had." He joked as Chewie rolled his eyes and Luke scowled. _I guess he didn't really mean it then._ Han blamed the alcohol.  


They all struggled to push the lid of casket off, holding their heads in pain when it fell to the floor with a slam. Inside the casket was a wooden box which they stood up. Luke circled it.   
"Are you ready, guys?" Chewie asked, throwing a worried glance at Han.   
"No." Luke shook his head frantically.  
"Do it." Leia commanded and Han twisted the box into the slot and began turning. Slowly the lid started to give as if being lowered by a crane until it fell suddenly.  
" _Fuck me!_ "  
" _Shit!_ "  
" _Christ!_ " A decrepid corpse jumped out at them, the maggot-infested corpse of _Vader_. Bile began to rise in Luke's throat.  
"Whoa, Luke, take a look." Leia pointed down at the lid, the insides of which was littered with scratches, made with..."Fingernails. He was alive when they buried him." Dread and satisfaction filled Luke simultaneously. There was something _grotesque_ about being buried alive but a monster like Vader deserved no less.   
"Oh, shit." Chewie ran a hand through his shaggy hair. Luke's eyes drifted to a corner of the lid and lowered himself next to it.  
"He also left a message." His fingers traced the words written in blood.  
"What does it say?" Han asked, getting closer.  
" _Death is only the beginning._ " Luke translated. A second chill ran through everybody.   
"Well, that isn't onimous at all." There was a commotion above them, worker scattering, leaving the caverns. _  
_

"What in the heavens?" Luke shouted up in Arabic and a few shouted back. "It seems our friends in the opposite camp have found our treasure."  
"Dammit!" Leia kicked the sand angrily. Luke shouted again and waited for a response.  
"They also said they'd found a chest, a cursed chest." Luke told the group. "The workers scarpered." A distinct yelping was brought to Han and Chewie's attention.  
"Jabba, _the slime_." Chewie growled.   
"Yes, it seems he too ran."

Later, the other group's leaders, Antilles, Dax and Biggs, along with Jabba were sitting around a fire along with Leia, Chewie and Han, the former being decidedly more cheerful after having found jewel encrusted jars.  
"How much do you think these will sell back in America, Solo?" Antilles asked, fondly looking at his jar.  
"Yeah, we heard you'd found a nice mummy." Dax grinned. "You know you could dry him out and sell him as firewood?" Leia scowled at them, shutting them up and Chewie shook his head.  
"Look what I found." Luke walked up them and Han pushed Jabba away from him to make space. "Ysalamiri lizards." He held up the skeleton of one. "They were said to be creatures that could block the Force. If Vader was put in with them, this would mean he was doomed to a lonely death, as he couldn't reach out to anyone using the Force."  
"The Force?" Antilles asked, examining the skeleton.  
"It was said to be a mystical energy field that connected everything together. Both the Jedi and the Sith harnessed the Force and used it to fight in battle."  
"A myth." Han dismissed it quickly.  
"You don't believe in the Force, Solo?" Luke asked.  
"Kid, I've been to a lot of places, I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I haven't seen anything that's made me believe that there's an all-powerful Force controlling everything." He smirked at him. "There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny." Luke turned back to Antilles who asked him more questions about the Ysalamiri and Han felt the blood rush to his face. _He didn't even respond_. He noticed Leia eyeing him and smirking, seeming to read his mind. _Damn Luke Skywalker_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sins (a.k.a typos) galore!


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader is awakened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just realised I'd been spelling Egypt wrong.

Luke was taking a walk when he saw the Americans' Egyptologist holding the Book of the Light in his sleeping arms and he bit his lip. _Should he?_ He thought about the Book and how it was his life's dream. _Yes. Yes, he should._ With his footsteps muffled by the sand, he crept closer to the sleeping man and gently reached for the book, wiggling it out of his grasp. He stirred so Luke quickly moved some papers that has been laying on the side under his arm. He took one more quick look around before running off with the Book.

"That's called stealing." Han's voice made him jump as he thought he'd been asleep.  
"Well, according to you and my sister, it's called _finding_." Luke slotted in the key box and began turning, waiting for the click of the lock giving.  
"I thought the Book of the Light was made of gold." Han asked, getting up and staring down at it.  
"It is." Luke heard the lock open and set aside the box. "This is the Book of Dark."  
"Book of the _Dark_." Han repeated it, a sense of dread hanging over him. "Are you sure you want to be playing around with that thing?" Han asked, settling next to him.  
"It's a _book_." Luke reiterated. "No harm ever came from reading a book." He opened the metal cover, causing the fire the flicker from the draft. Han shot him a nervous look to which he shrugged. He began to read the ancient language out loud, putting on a voice to scare Han.  
" _No!_ " The Egyptologist was now awake and running towards them. "Mr Skywalker, you must not read from th-"

A piercing screech filled the air, startling everyone awake. It was deathly quiet until a low rumbling came from the distant dunes. Luke and Han got up their feet as the Egyptologist snatched the book out of Luke's hand, giving him a look of dread and disgust.  
" _What have you done?_ " He hissed and Luke was about to answer back when the rumbling morphed into scuttling. He turned back to the dunes where a swarm of locusts burst out from behind the sand and headed for the city. Chaos ensued, everyone running for shelter from the vermin. Luke grabbed Han's hand and dragged him into the cavern closely followed by Chewie and Leia. They ran down the corridor, batting away the locusts from their skin.  
"Did you _see_ that?" Leia screamed, shivering. "I _hate_ locusts!" She shook out her body as if there were some still on her.  
"That's one of plagues, isn't it?" Chewie asked. "A plague of locusts?"  
This is not a plague." Luke yelled over Leia's background complaining. "It's generational. Every so many years the locusts of Egypt have a population explosion and they all take flight. That has to be- _Leia, will you please calm down?_ " It was quiet for a moment as Leia quietened down but then the ground started to shake and small section starts to rise. They were frozen as the sight but an exasperated sigh came out of Luke. _What now?_ The section of sand erupted and hordes of scarab beetles. They all screamed as they turned and sprinted out of the corridor.  
  
The beetles followed them up a staircase onto a walkway. Han and Chewie jumped on pedestals out of the creatures' way while Leia and Luke landed on grotto the other side of the staircase. They clinged to each other, Luke's arm in front of her to keep her back as the vicious little creatures scuttled past them, their ear-piercing critters sending chills down Leia's spine. They leant furthur back and yelped as the wall behind them gave way and they fell back. Han and Chewie didn't notice until the staircase was empty.  
"Leia? Luke?"  
  
The twins groaned as they got to their feet.  
"Are you okay?" Luke offered Leia a hand in getting up, which she didn't let go of.  
"Where _are_ we?" She asked, looking around. The room was dark, almost pitch black save the moonlight streaming through holes in the ceiling.  
"I'm not sure." Luke moved forward, Leia close behind him. "This must be a- _Mr Antilles?_ " Antilles had his back to them but he let out a groan of acknowlegdement.  
"Wedge, what are _you_ doing here?" Leia asked, more friendly with him than Luke was. "Did you lose your group?" She walked up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, turning him to face him. "We're not quite sure how to- _Wedge!_ " She pulled back at the sight of his face, eyeless. The twins screamed as he tried to speak.  
" _He took-tongue-eyes!_ " He spat out and Luke noticed that his tongue had been ripped out as well.  
" _Who_ did?" He shouted as they back away against the wall. Behind Antilles, a figure steps out of the shadows. _Not a figure_. Luke thought as he noticed the lack of skin or organs. _Vader_.  
"Oh shit." Leia whimpered and Luke couldn't help but agree with her sentiment. The walking corpse of Vader advanced on their pair, disregarding a whimpering Antilles.

" _This was foretold._ " He said in his dead language, his voice grating and horrifying. " _Our long-awaited meeting._ "  
"Help us!" Leia shouted into the dark hallway. "Han! Chewie!" She tried to tug Luke off but he wouldn't budge.  
" _What do you mean?_ " Luke asked him. " _What was foretold?_ " Before Vader could answer, Han and Chewie burst in.  
"Leia, Luke?" Han shouted at them. "What the hell are you doing?" He gripped Luke. "Are you done playing around?" Chewie jumped back in surprise and Han finally looked where everyone else was. "Whoa!" The four watched as Vader got closer, as if stalking prey. Chewie fired his shotgun and he was blown away, half his ribcage splintering off. He was winded and Han saw this as a good opportunity to run.  
"Wait, Antilles!" Luke ran to pull the man towards them. "We can't leave him." Vader was getting back to his feet so Chewie shot him again and Leia grabbed one of Antilles' arm, pulling it over her shoulder.  
"Don't worry, Wedge, we're gonna get you out of here." Leia comforted him as her and Luke dragged him down the corridor, caged by Han and Chewie.

They burst out from the cavern to come face to face with the Jedi, holding the other Americans hostage.  
" _Wedge!_ " Dax tried to get to his feet but was shoved back down by a Jedi.  
"I told you to leave or die." The leader stepped forward, a small man with a green-ish tint to his skin. "You refused, and now you may have killed us all. For you have unleashed the creature that we have feared for more than four thousand years." Luke had to scoff.  
"Oh, _please_." He gave Wedge's arm to Chewie. "We all know it's Vader."  
"Yes, the last reincarnation of Darth Bane." The leader snipped back.  
"It's okay, guys - my buddy got him." Han jabbed a thumb over at Chewie and the man laughed bitterly.  
"No mortal weapons can kill this creature." He said.  
"What happened to Wedge?" Dax interrupted, training his eyes on his injured friend.  
"We found him." Luke replied. "Vader..." He decided on how to phrase it.  
"He took his eyes and tongue." Leia said, throwing a glance at Luke - _like you could actually say it without throwing up._ Dax and Biggs cringed and wretched.  
"They saved him." The leader told them harshly. "Before the creature could finish it's work." He turned back to Luke. "Now leave, before it finished you all!"  
"You're not gonna do that?" Han asked and Luke rolled his eyes, elbowing him.  
"We have more pressing matters." The Jedi filed out, save for the leader. "We must find a way to stop the creature before it consumes the earth." He threw a glance at the Americans. "Anyway, the creature will come for them, anyway. It _must_ consummate the curse." He moved closer to Luke. "And until he does, he will not sleep and _he will not stop._ " He left in flourish, which annoyed Luke slightly. _There's a walking dead man who wants to consume the earth. Now's not the time for dramatics._

 _British Embassy - the next morning_  
  
"You want to _stay_?" Han yelled at Luke as he chucked several garments of clothes into a trunk. "I thought you didn't believe in this crap!" He turned towards the closet, giving Luke the opportunity to take the clothes out.  
"Well, having an encounter with a reincarnated walking-talking corpse tends to convert one!" He shouted back.  
"Forget it!" Han said, throwing more clothes in. "We're out the door, down the hall and _we're gone_!"  
"No, we are _not_!-"  
"-Yes, we _are_!" Han threw more stuff in the trunk that Luke immediately took out.  
"No, we're _not_! We woke him up so we must be the ones to stop him." Luke said.  
" _We?_ " Han repeated. "What _we_? We didn't read that book! I told you not to play around with that thing - _didn't I tell you not to play around with that thing?_ " Luke rolled his eyes, emptying the trunk again.  
"Fine, _I_ read the book and _I_ woke him up and _I_ intend to stop him!" Han waved a pair of Luke's boxers angrily.  
"How? You heard the Jedi - no mortal weapons can kill this guy!" Luke grabbed his boxers back, blushing, and shoved them back into the drawer.  
"Well, we'll have to find some _immortal_ ones!"  
"There's that _we_ again!" Luke slammed the trunk shut, decidely and Han scoffed, pacing the room.

"According to the Book of the Dark, once the creature - _Vader_ \- has been reborn, his curse will spread, and as he grows in strength, so will the curse, infecting the people until the whole of the earth is destroyed!"  
"And how is that _my_ problem?" Han asked, towering over him, angrily  
"It's _everyone's_ problem!" Luke shrank back nervously even though he knew Han wouldn't hurt him.  
"Listen, kid, I appreciate you saving my life but I agreed to take you there and back and that's what I've done." He backed Luke up against the desk. "End of job, end of story, _contract terminated_!"  
"Is that all I am to you, a _contract_?" Luke asked and Han paused, dumbstruck. _Dammit, Luke._ He thought as he looked down into Luke's eyes. He backed away, towards the door.  
"Listen, Luke." He said. "You and Leia can tag along with us or you can stay here and try to save the world."  
"We're staying." Luke told him with little hesitation. There was a twinge of hurt when Luke chose the world over Han but he shook it off.  
"Fine." He growled out as he pulled open the door.  
"Fine!" Luke repeated as he watched him leave, slamming the door. There was a twinge of hurt when Han chose to leave instead of stay but he shook it off, cleaning his room up. _Maybe Leia was having better luck with Chewie_.  
  
Han grumbled as he stalked through the Embassy. " _Damn kid...going to get himself killed...what is he thinking....stupid-_ "  
"-Someone I know?" Chewie asked as he overhead.  
" _Luke!_ What is he _thinking_?" He yelled, taking Chewie aback. "He won't see reason and he's going to get himself _killed_."  
"It's a matter of responsibility, Han." Chewie shrugged. "Luke's a man of honour and sees it as his responsibility to stop Vader." _A man of honour._ So much unlike Han. A flurry of movement caught his eye and he saw Jabba, who he'd hadn't seen since last night, before the locusts guide a robed man up the staircase.  
"When did that piece of crap show up?" He asked, pointing to him. Chewie shrugged and they approached him. "Jabba, you slimy bastard, where did you slink off to?" He shouted at him and Jabba jumped, scampering down the steps.  
"You left me there to rot!" He spluttered out and Chewie rubbed his neck guiltily.  
"Sorry about that." Han's eyes drifted to the stranger, covered head-to-toe in a dark robes and wore a full-faced mask.  
"Who's this?" He asked, eyeing him up suspiciously. _Something felt familiar..._  
"Priest Shmi." Jabba answered quickly, as if rehearsed. "High Priest of the temple of Orisis."  
"Hey, how's it going?" Han stuck out a hand to which the priest recoiled from.  
"The Priest does not like to be touched." Jabba stood between them before laughing nervously. "A silly superstition, I'm afraid."  
"Are you okay, Jabba?" Chewie asked. "You seem...off."  
"Yes, my friend!" He said quickly, nodding his head. "He's just come to help Mr Antilles." He pulled his features into a mask of guilt. "I somehow feel responsible." _Responsibility._  
"Yeah, there seems to be a lot of that going around." Han threw a knowing glance at Chewie. "Are you sure you're okay, Jabba? It's not like you to have a conscience."  
"Maybe I found yours as you've seemed to have dropped it." Jabba retorted. "You running, Solo?" Han glared before turning away from him.  
"See you around, _pal_."

_The local cantina_

"How's Wedge?" Leia asked as she passed Dax a shot.  
"He had his eyes and tongue ripped out - _how would you be?_ " He replied bitterly before downing it. "His wife is going to kill me." He rubbed his eyes wearily as Han and Chewie made their way towards them.  
"You're packed, I presume?" She asked, giving them a dirty look.  
"Come on, Leia, this has nothing to do with us." Han responded, before turning to Dax. "What about you?"  
"Leaving first thing tomorrow." Dax replied.  
"Cowards." Leia spat.  
"It's easy for _you_ to say." Biggs said. "You don't have an evil curse on you." Leia rolled her eyes and held up a drink.  
"A toast then." She waited for everyone else to lift their glasses. "To getting out of this hellhole." They all downed their drinks before spitting them back out.  
" _What the-_ " Dax caught himself, looking at his glass with had a red liquid in it. "That tasted like..."  
" _Blood_." Chewie finished staring at the fountain in the middle of the room, of which blood came out instead of water.  
" _And the rivers and waters of Egypt went red_." Leia recounted. " _And were as blood_."  
"He's here." Han realised, dread turning his blood to ice.  
"Who is?" Leia asked. But Han had already took off, running out of the Cantina and back to the Embassy building, back to Luke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You get a typo! You get a typo! Everyone gets a typo!


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader is almost invincible and he wants the twins by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whenever, Vader, Luke and Leia are talking to each other, it's in Ancient Egyptian.

_British Embassy  
_  
Luke bustled through the courtyard, carrying a pile of books. It felt comforting to hold books again, muscle memory kicking in and Luke could feel like he was back at the museum. Speaking of which, he'd have to return to in order to tell Kenobi about what he'd learnt. _And what you've done_. Luke scowled as that thought drifted into his mind. _I was in the pursuit of knowledge...and maybe I wanted to show off to Han a little. Han who was probably halfway to the airport._   
"Luke!" A familiar voice made him turn and happiness flooded him.  
"You decided to stay then?" He asked, his tone marred with smugness. I knew you couldn't leave. Han laughed sarcastically.  
"We got an issue!" He grabbed his arm and Luke dropped the books.  
"Han, wait-" He grunted as he tried to reach for the books again.   
"We got a problem!" As he said this, an onslaught of hail and fire suddenly fell from the sky. Chaos erupted as people tried to find cover. "He's here!" Han shouted as he gripped Luke's hand tight pulling out of the courtyard under the eaves. "Vader's here!"  
" _Vader?_ " Luke repeated. "Are you _sure_?" Han gave him an incredulous look before gesturing to the hail and fire.   
"Pretty sure, Luke!" Luke looked down, thinking before a horrific realisation came to him.  
"Antilles!" He shouted, running up to the man's room. "He must be here for Antilles."

"Wedge, open up!" Han pounded on the door.  
"Mr Antilles, you're in danger!" Luke had his turn, knocking on the door. "Listen to me-" A bloodcurdling scream filled the air and Luke felt dread creeping on him. "Mr Antilles!" He threw his height against the door, before bouncing straight off. Han caught him, worried but Luke scoffed. " _Get it open!_ " In a quick fatal swoop, the door gave way against Han and they burst in.  
" _Wedge!_ " Han looked down in horror at the dried-up corpse of Wedge Antilles, the face twisted in a mask of fear.   
"Oh no." Luke's eyes were on Vader, who was partially-restored, a thin layer of skin covering his surface. Jabba Hutt, was in the corner watching in awe, face absent of fear. It didn't take long for Luke to realise that Jabba must've made some sort of deal with Vader. "You son of a Sith!" He hissed at him, tearing up. Jabba ignored him, watching Vader as he came closer, staring at Luke.  
"Back off, creep!" Han yelled, opening fire on him. The bullets may as well have been feathers with all the good they did.   
"Han, wait-" Luke began as Han threw a punch at Vader and his fist went through his skull. Han stared for a second, horrified before dragging it back out and joining Luke against the wall. "Any other bright ideas?" He asked sarcastically and Han shot him a look.

" _Luke Skywalker._ " Vader called for his attention. " _It was foretold that you would raise me from the dead._ "  
" _I intend to put you right back, Vader._ " Luke answered back and Vader's mouth shifted to resemble a smirk. Han looked between them, confused.  
" _You have spirit, young Skywalker. Join me and we shall rule the world._ "  
" _Never_." Vader advanced angrily and threw Han into the others who had stormed in, all of them landing into a clump of the floor. Vader lifted a hand to grab Luke when a white cat hissed at him. He recoiled and gave Luke one last glare before spinning into a whirlwind of sand and drifting out of the window with Jabba. The storm outside quietened and there was a brief interlude of calmness.

Biggs and Dax rushed to what was left of Antilles and Luke had to look away. Han moved closer, resting a comforting hand on his arm as they cried out for their dead friend. Leia flinched as Dax turned his gaze on her.   
"What _now_?" He asked and a sense of resolution washed over her.  
"I tell you what now." She glanced at Luke, knowingly. " _Now_ , we get some answers."

 _Museum of_ _Antiquities_  
  
"He's possibly the only man who give us answers." Luke told the group as he rounded the corner towards Mr Kenobi's office. "He- _you!_ " He cried as he saw the Jedi's leader talking almost amicably with Mr Kenobi. Everyone behind him drew their guns and the Jedi rolled his eyes. "What are _you_ doing here?"  
"Would you really like to know, Luke?" Kenobi asked, exasperated. "Or would you like to shoot us already?" Han lowered his gun slowly.  
"After what I've just seen," He slides his gun back in his holster. "I'm willing to go on a little faith."

"We are part of an ancient secret society, the Jedi, and we have a sacred mission, to stop evil like Vader from rising again under all and any circumstances." Mr Kenobi said, sitting at his desk.  
"And because of you, we have failed." The man - now known as Yoda - added, accusingly and Luke glared at him.  
"And this justifies the killing of innocent people?" He asked, fists clenching.   
"To stop this creature?" Kenobi clarified. "Let me think - yes!" Luke turned away from his mentor, slightly disgusted at his candidness.  
"Quick question." Chewie lifted a hand up. "Why doesn't he like cats?"  
"Cats were said to guard the underworld." Luke answered.   
"He will fear them until he's fully regenerated and then he will fear nothing." Yoda added.  
"Right!" Biggs said angrily. "And _how_ does he fully regenerate? By sucking whoever opened that damn chest dry, that's how!" Dax rolled his eyes, still mourning his friend. Suddenly the room darkened and they all looked up to the large skylight up above to see the sun being eclipsed.

"That's...not good." Luke said, lamely.  
" _...and he stretched forth his hands towards the heavens, and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt._ "  
"I hate it when you do that, Leia."

British Embassy  
  


Leia and Luke paced the length of the hallway outside his room while the others sat on the floor.  
"We need to stop Vader from regenerating." Luke repeated.  
"Yes, we heard you the first _seven_ times." Han groaned, stretching.  
"Who else opened that chest?" Chewie asked the two Americans. Dax rubbed the back of his neck and Biggs rolled his eyes at him.  
"There's was us, Wedge and that Egyptologist guy." Biggs listed. Luke thought for a moment before speaking.  
"We need to find the Egyptologist and bring him back here." He said, heading down the hallway. He was blocked by Han who gave him a look that said - _are you stupid?_  
"You're staying here." He said. "The guy was after you - me, Biggs and Dax will go, you, Leia and Chewie stay here-" Everyone pounced on him, simultaneously.  
" _Who put you in charge?_ -"  
"- _I'm not leaving this place for nothing_ -"  
"- _I am responsible for this mess_ -"  
"- _We're safe here!_ -"   
"- _And I intend to clean it up!_ " Han rolled his eyes at Luke's admission and signalled for Chewie to pick up Leia as he picked up Luke.

"Han, put me down this _instant_!" Luke banged his fists against Han's back as he was chucked onto the bed of his room with Leia.  
"Han, don't you dare!" She screamed as he shut the door on them and locked it.  
"You are _not_ leaving us in here!" Luke said. "Open this door!" He commanded but no one responded. "Urgh!" He yelled in frustation. "I _hate_ that man!" He said, glaring at the door.

 _The Egyptologist's office  
_  
"Well if it isn't my old pal, Jabba." Han fumed as he saw the man turn the Egyptologist's office into chaos. Jabba turned, a deer in the headlights, before running for the window. Dax shot him in the leg and he collapses, screaming in pain. "Oh, Jabba, did you fall? Here, let me help you up." Han picked him up, lifting him close to the whirling fan. "Where's your new friend?"  
"What friend? You're my only friend." Han lifted him higher and he whimpered.  
"Then you got nothing to live for." He growled. "What are you _doing_ with this creep? What do you get out of it?"   
"It's better to serve at the Devil's right hand, then to be in his path." Jabba said, cryptically and Han rolled his eyes.  
"What are you looking for?" Dax asked.  
"The Book of the Dark!" Jabba answered quickly. "Vader needs it to resurrect his army, the book...and the know-it-all."  
" _Luke?_ " Dax pressed. "He wants _Luke_?"  
"It was _foretold_." Jabba said, rolling his eyes. "Skywalker would join him and together they will rule."  
"Luke would rather die." Han gritted out as he lifted Jabba even higher.   
"I think that's the point." Before Han could ask what he meant, Jabba kneed him between his legs and Han doubled over. While Dax and Han were distracted, Jabba made a run for it.

"Even since I met that kid's sister, I've had the _worst_ luck." Han groaned. Suddenly there was scream coming from outside in the marketplace. They rushed to the window where a crowd cleared to reveal a dead Egyptologist and a hooded Vader standing over him. He bent down, prying the Book and one of the sacred jars out of his dried-up hands. He looked up suddenly, locking eyes with Han and smirking. Slowly, his jaw unhinged and a swarm of flies flew out of his mouth, heading for the pair. They slam the shutters quickly and hear the sounds of the flies bouncing against the window.  
"Two down, two to go." Han said.  
"Then he'll be going after Luke." Dax finished, not realising he was one of those two and they sprinted to get back to the embassy.

 _The British Embassy_  
  
Chewie stared out the window as Biggs shifted nervously.   
"Screw this." He said suddenly. "I'm going to get a drink, you want anything?"  
"Any hard liquor." Biggs replied, not quite joking. Chewie stormed off and Biggs rested his head against the door. It had been quiet for a while so the twins must have fallen asleep. _God, those kids had a set of lungs on them_. He thought as he remembered the screaming that they did, cursing Han Solo for all eternity. _Solo must really like this kid._ He wasn't blind, he saw the way he acted towards Luke. It was more than friendship - male friends didn't hold hands or gaze at each other. Biggs didn't care all that much, Solo was a good enough fighter and Luke was nice and he could admit Luke was pretty attractive. A large gust of wind interrupted Biggs' musing and got up to shut the window.

A piercing scream shook the twins away and they sprung up from the bed.  
"What the hell?" Leia asked.  
"Chewie? Mr Biggs?" Luke pounded against the door. "What was that?" The screams stopped and it was silent. Luke stepped away from the door, keeping Leia behind him and grabbing the nearest weapon - a cricket bat. Slowly, sand poured out of the keyhole into a mound onto the floor.   
"Luke?" Leia asked, worried. The sand rose and in its place was an almost-fully regenerated Vader.  
" _Stay away, you monster._ " Luke hissed, holding the bat in front of him.   
" _You are so brave, young Skywalkers._ " Vader addressed both of them. " _Much like your mother._ "  
" _How dare you speak about our mother._ " Leia growled from behind Luke.   
" _But you are also weak and foolish like your father._ " Vader told her, mockingly.   
" _Our father..._ " Luke spoke slowly, threateningly. " _...Had more strength in his little finger than you possess in your entire body._ " Vader chuckled and the twins felt uneasy.  
" _Kenobi didn't tell you, did he?_ " He asked, tilting his head.

"Luke!" Han burst in, angrily. "Get away from my guy, pal!" He yelled at Vader and held up the cat before earlier to Vader's face. He hissed and disappeared in a tornado of sand again. It was calm once more. Luke processed the scene before him. Dax bent down next to a shrivelled Biggs, Chewie appearing the doorway holding a bottle of liquor and Han gazing at him intently.  
" _Your_ guy?" Luke asked. Han's face cleared, dumbstruck before turning away.  
"Figure of speech, pal." He grunted out, blushing. "Don't think too much of it." Chewie narrowed his eyes and shook his head as Luke looked away, hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...so many typos and inaccuracies and emotionally constipated gays.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke finds out the truth about Vader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm more devoted to this than I am my schoolwork

_Museum of_ _Antiquities_

The group followed Luke as he strode confidently through the hallways of the Museum.  
"Last month, I came across an inscription that spoke of the Book of the Dark." He told them as Mr Kenobi waited at the top of the staircase. "But, of course, I dismissed it because of the whole _bringing people back to the dead_ notion that I was unwilling to accept."  
"Are you so unwilling now?" Leia asked sarcastically and he rolled his eyes.  
"And now Vader's going to use it to bring his army back to life." Dax pointed out.  
"And with them," Yoda added. "He will bring the apocalypse." They reached the display case and Luke opened it.  
"Yes, well, I have a theory." Luke said, reaching into the case for the pieces of papyrus carefully. "If the Book of the Dark can bring people back from the dead..." He trailed off, scanning one of the scrolls.   
"Maybe the Book of the Light can return them to the underworld." Kenobi finished, scanning the paper as well.  
"So if we find the Book of the Light, we can send Vader back to hell?" Han asked and Leia nodded.  
"I think that's pretty much the gist." She turned her head towards the large window that overlooked the entrance to the museum. "Did you guys hear that?" Outside a mob, pounded against the window, chanting a word that sent chills down everyone's back. _Vader._

"Come on." Chewie ushered the group towards the back of the museum and stood vigilant as Leia, Luke and Kenobi sifted through the scrolls, looking for anything.   
"Got it!" Leia shouted and everyone turned to look at her. In the distance, the mob had burst in through the front entrance and Han shifted nervously. "If the Book of the Dark was found under the statue of Bane then the Book of the Dark should be under the statue of Qui-Gon Jinn." Luke hit himself in the head.  
"I'm an _idiot_!" He berated himself as he pulled himself to his feet. "A total, brain-dead, bumbling _idiot_!"  
"Okay, take it down a notch." Dax said.  
" _How_ could I think the Book of the _Light_ would be in the city of the _Sith_?" He continued. "How could _Benbridge Scholars_ think the Book of the Light would be in the city of the Sith? And we call ourselves _intellectuals_? We're so _blind_!" Han rest his hands on Luke's shoulders.  
"Luke, _stop_." He commanded. "Stop going over past mistakes, you know better now and that's what matters." There was a pause where Luke looked at him intensely before Han pulled away. "Got it?" Luke nodded, before Dax called to their attention.  
"Hate to break this up but we all need to leave." He said. "Vader's mob is getting closer." They all emptied the room towards the back entrance where Chewie had already started the car. Dax jumped in first and pulled Leia and Luke in. "Come on!" He shouted at Han and Kenobi who were taking far too long. Once they had all squeezed into the car, they took off.

_A Cairo bazaar_

The car sped through the Cairo streets and they relaxed the further they got away from the Museum. However, the brakes screeched as Chewie slammed them down. In front of them, was the mob - or was it different people? - staring back at them, waiting for something.   
"What happened to them?" Leia whispered and Luke looked closer. They were covered with boils, making their skin peel off and Luke gagged at the sight. Chewie reversed around a corner and sped forward back down the way they came. The mob was in hot pursuit, unbelievably fast. Several members jumped onto the car and soon they were in a moving scuffle, Chewie still trying to drive while the other fought off the mob. Luke was trying to kick one of them off when he felt an absence beside him - Dax had fallen out.   
" _No!_ " He yelled as Dax tumbled out and disappeared into the mob, eyes locking with Luke's. He tried to climb out after him but he was pulled down by Han.   
" _Are you insane?_ " He shouted into his face as he shot past him.   
"Dax fell out!" He explained. "We can't leave him!"  
"Yes, we can!" Han growled out. "I can't lose you, okay?" He turned back to fight against another mob member and Luke was shielded by him enough to stay in his daze. _He can't lose me?_ Resolve filled Luke. _As soon as we're out of this one..._ He turned towards Chewie who was being attacked and tried to ignore the faint scream of Dax in the distance.

Chewie crashes the car into the wall as he turned too quickly and the group rushed out of it. They were backed into a corner with the mob slowly advancing, holding up machetes and scythes. Suddenly though, the mob gets called back like dogs and they part to reveal a fully regenerated Vader - as young as Han was, but was disfigured, burnt beyond all magic healing.   
"Whoa." Luke breathed out. Vader looked over to him, then to Leia next to him and began to advance.   
"Back off, buddy." Han hissed but was ignored.

" _Come with me, young Skywalkers._ " He told them. " _And no harm will come to your friends._ " A sense of dread filled Luke as he took in the scene. A bloodthirsty crowd waiting for a kill order, a fully regenerated Vader and his little group armed only with a few guns and swords. He looked back at his sister who seemed, for the first time, terrified out of her skin.   
" _Leave my sister alone._ " Luke stepped out from behind Han. " _Leave my sister and my friends alone and I'll come with you._ "   
"No!" Leia shouted. "Luke, don't - he'll kill us anyway." But he ignored her, taking Vader's offered hand.   
" _I'm sure we will accomplish great things together, Skywalker._ " Vader smirked. Han pulled out a gun, pointing it straight at Vader.  
"I won't let you." He said, as he turned the safety off.   
"Wait!" Luke yelled. "He still needs to take me to Malachor to complete the ritual." He looked in Han's eyes and tried to convey his regret. "I _have_ to do this, Han." Then he smiled. "You better think of a plan quick. If he turns me into a mummy, you're the first one I'm coming after."   
"You're not a _total_ loss, kid." Han almost smiled back, thinking about their first meeting. Jabba moved suddenly and yanks something out of Leia's pocket.  
"Hey, that's mine!" She protested as he took the keybox that started this whole mess away from her. He thanked her sarcastically as Vader and Luke walked past the mob, Luke and Han's eyes staying on each other until Vader spoke up again.  
" _Kill them all._ "   
" _No!_ Leia!" Luke shouted as he continued to be dragged off and mob closed in. "Han, Chewie, run!" His cried were drowned out as the mob began chanting again. Chewie reaches down and pulls open a manhole leading into the sewers.

"Everyone, get in." He commanded as Han jumped down.   
"What about Luke?" Leia asked and she followed.  
"We'll get him back." Han reassured him. We have to. Yoda pushed Kenobi towards Chewie.  
"Go, find Luke, kill the creature!" He jumped into the mob and Chewie ushered Kenobi down before closing the manhole after himself, hearing Yoda's going down with a fight.  
"What _now_?" He asked.  
"We need to get Luke back." Han said.  
"We need to go back to Malachor." Leia wiped the tears away from her face. "Wait, ritual?" She looked at Kenobi. "What ritual?" Kenobi looked away, guiltily.   
" _What_ ritual, old man?" Han growled at him as he pushed him up against the wall.   
"Luke must've seen it on one of the scrolls." He whispered. "Vader must spill the blood of his own or nemesis' offspring to bring his army forth from the underworld." Leia whimpered and then kicked into the water angrily.  
"You couldn't have told us before?" She asked, furious. "That our family had a target on our backs?"   
"We never thought the creature would rise again." He told her and she scoffed.   
"What a bullshit excuse!" She hissed.  
"Come on." Chewie rested a hand on her shoulder. "Let's get out of this sewer." He led the way out. "We need to get back to Malachor." He said later as they gulped in fresh air again.

_Malachor_

A sand storm swiftly made its way into the Tatooine desert and comes to stop. Ejected out of it, are Luke and Jabba.  
"Get off me!" Luke kicked the slime off him. " _Get off!_ " He smacked Jabba hard for good measure and got his face, looking out across the dunes. "Oh god." He moaned out. "We're back." He looked up suddenly, the roar of an engine filling the air. A plane flies above them and Luke laughed in relief. " _Han._ " Vader looked perturbed and another whirlwind rises, heading straight for the plane.   
"Not for long." Jabba commented and Luke turned to Vader.  
" _Stop it, you'll kill them!_ " He shouted and Vader smirked.  
" _That, young Skywalker, is the plan._ " At this, Luke threw a punch at him, hoping to distract him. It worked but that plane went down anyway, blazing. Luke looked away and Vader tousled his hair. " _Your friends made you foolish_." He grabbed a fistful of blonde locks, dragging him over to the city.

"Leia!" Chewie unhooked her from her place on the wing of the biplane. "Are you alright?"  
"Never better." She coughed out, letting Chewie pick her up. "Where's Han?" Han was unconscious, blood staining the left side of his head.   
"He's alive." Chewie grunted out and turned to the biplane. "Good thing we left Kenobi in Cairo. He would never have survived that crash." Slowly the biplane began to sink into the sand and he backed off. "Quicksand, get back." He warned. He picked Han and they ran over the dunes.   
"We're not far from Malachor." Leia looked at the city that was in the near distance. "Come on."

"Keep moving."  
"Shut up, you horrid little man." Luke hissed, sharply. "I hope you die the most horrible way imaginable."  
"Me too." Jabba shoves his rifle into Luke's back again. " _Keep moving_." They entered a chamber and Vader stopped to turn back to them.  
" _Silence, Jabba._ " He commanded before moving his eyes to Luke and holding a hand up. " _Come with me, young Skywalker. Join me at the altar._ "  
"Why?" He asked confused, stepping forward slowly.   
" _You must learn the truth of your past if you are to understand your future._ " He led Luke to a stone slab. " _Lie down and I shall show you the truth._ " Luke hesitated. The slab was a sacrifical slab, that much was obvious and Luke didn't feel like dying. " _You will not be harmed during this process._ " Vader's voice rang with sincerity and Luke lied down too quickly. What was that? Vader incited a incantation and Luke drifted off, as if into a dream.

He was now standing up in a room, gloomy clouds hung heavily outside. _England._   
"Please, Master Kenobi - let me come with you to Cairo." A man pleading with Kenobi made him turn around. It was his father, younger and clearer than he'd ever seen him. He then looked at Kenobi, younger as well, much too young to resemble his mentor.   
"Anakin, the counsel have explicitly stated that this is to be a negotiation." Kenobi was packing while Anakin was sitting at his desk, relaxed. A completely different image to the one Luke had in his head of him.  
"Two Jedi aren't threatening." Kenobi sighed, obviously giving in. "And besides you need me, who are you going to turn to when you need saving for the tenth time?"  
"Ninth. And I'll see what I can do." The scenery changed and Luke was suddenly under the Egyptian night sky.

"Anakin, the Jedi counsel have requested that we stay stationed in Cairo." Kenobi walked up to Anakin who was standing guard over a village.  
"The village could use all the protection it can get, I suppose." Anakin said in a bored tone and shrugged but he also glanced over at a young woman who was looking at. "I agree we should stay."  
"I suppose this willingness to stay in this ' _sandy hellhole_ ' as you so eloquently put it has nothing to do with a certain young leader of a certain village?" Kenobi insinuated, playfully and Anakin punched him in the arm.  
"Shut up, Obi-Wan." There was other scenery changes after that, Luke only being able to rest on them for a few seconds.

Padme and Anakin were kissing, obviously married.

Padme telling Anakin she was pregnant.

A sinister old man whispering into Anakin's ear.

Anakin pulling out his green lightsaber on a group of children - _villagers_.

Finally, Luke followed Obi-Wan as he walked in a room, surrounded by fire. Inside, Anakin was standing over an unconscience Padme. Luke tried to run to his mother but his hand went through her and he remembered this was a vision. He looked up where Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting on a walkway over fire, obviously fighting for a while. Suddenly Obi-Wan swiped his lightsaber at Anakin, dismembering his father. The scene was fading as Obi-Wan cried out.

_You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!_

A final image: Anakin morphing into Vader.

" _No!_ " Luke screamed as his eyes opened. He looked at Vader who held a knife over him, chanting. Luke tried to move but he was held down. " _You!_ " He cried as his heart broke. His father - the man he had wanted to meet so long - was a fraud, a killer. _A monster._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Typos for daaaaaaays


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's so many changes of time/scene in this chapter so it's line break time.

_Malachor_

" _You are not my father!_ " Luke yelled in defiance. He knew he was lying to himself - he had seen the proof with his own eyes - or _did he_? He deliberated on the chance that Vader was showing him lies but it felt so true. This was his father. The overeager student, the fierce warrior, the husband, the killer. _He chose power over his family._ This fuelled Luke's anger and he pulled against the restraints. " _I hate you._ " Vader paused in his chanting and smirked down at him.  
" _Good. Let your blood run hot._ " He said. Luke pulled harshly against the restraints, wincing as they burnt his wrists. " _Stop struggling. It will make this more difficult._ " Vader then turned away from him and Luke saw another corpse next to him. Not a mummy but one that was shockingly familiar. " _Do not worry, Padme, we will be together soon._ "  
"Mother." He whispered and bile began to rise at the back of his throat. " _How dare you! How dare you disrespect my mother like this?_ "  
" _How dare you take her away from me?_ " Vader shouted back. " _She died giving birth to you little monsters! You killed her!_ " It had crossed his mind when he was a teenager, broody and lonely. _Did they kill their mother?_ But that was something that he had laid down to rest. _Their mother would have forgiven them._  
" _You left her!_ " Luke yelled and Vader looked at him, fire behind his eyes. " _She needed you! When you could have been with her, when you should have been thinking about her, you were thinking about yourself! You're the monster, not us!_ " Luke couldn't stop. " _That's the trick of the Sith, Vader. Because yourself was all you'd ever had. It was a mercy when Obi-Wan struck you down. He could have left you to live!_ " Vader was furious, chanting with vitriol now. Luke continued struggling with no avail. " _Don't do this to her, please. I can't lose her again._ " He said in a softer voice, defeated.  
" _You lost her? You barely knew her - you can't lose something you never had!_ " There was a twinge of sadness in Vader's tone and Luke broke slightly, seeing a crack in his armour where Anakin Skywalker was visible.  
" _She was our mother. Imagine it when she wakes up - her son dead and her husband turned to something he is not._ "  
" _No! She'll love me - she'll understand._ " Vader seemed to convincing himself more than Luke. Luke was about to say something else when a shot rang out. Vader's back arched on the impact and he suddenly became angry.

* * *

"What the hell are we waiting for, Leia?" Han growled as they waited on a dune overlooking the city.  
"We're waiting for our Jedi friends to bring us the Book of the Light, remember?" She replied, bored.   
"How can you be so calm?" He shouted. "Your brother might be getting sacrificed right _now!_ "  
"Don't underestimate my brother, Han." She rolled her eyes. "He's not your damsel in distress, he's a grown man who is perfectly capable of taking care of himself." Chewie rubbed the back of his neck.  
"As true as that probably is." He said. "You can't deny they're taking their sweet time." A single rider travelled over the dunes towards them and they all turned to watch them.  
"Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear." Leia murmured. The Jedi dismounted off their horse and pulled out something that glittered in the sunlight - the Book of the Light. Han quickly snatched it from their hands, sprinting towards the city.  
"Han, _wait_!" Leia yelled as she and Chewie chased after him. The Jedi watched as they went off.   
" _Kriffing idiots._ " They murmured, mounting their horse once more.

* * *

 

"Han, you have to slow down!" Chewie grabbed his friend and pulled him back.  
"No, I _have_ to get to Luke." He said, trying to break free.  
"Do you even know where we're meant to going?" Leia wheezed out, trying to catch her breath. She took the Book of him and walked ahead. "Follow me."

* * *

 

"Where are we?" Chewie asked as they passed walls filled with skeletons.   
"The sacrificial temple." Leia replied, holding out a flaming torch to make sure she's going the right way. "The Sith would kill any Jedi they had captured or their masters here. Sacrifice them to Darth Bane." She shuddered. "It's so _creepy_."  
"I agree." Chewie ducked to avoid another cobweb.  
"It's like I can _hear_ it." Leia murmured. "Their deaths. All at once." Chewie looked at her in an odd way. She was in a daze, walking forward sluggishly.   
"Leia, are you alright?" She didn't reply, staring into the darkness.  
"We're close." A hand suddenly reached for her, breaking through the wall. She screamed and Chewie pulled her back. Han looked behind him and found their way out blocked by skeletons breaking out of their places in the walls.  
"Not more mummies." He rolled his eyes as they sprinted down the corridors, avoiding the mummies grabbing hands, Leia setting fire to them with her torch.  
"Come on! It's through here." She lead the way into a chamber that was lit with torches. Inside was Jabba, who was quickly jumping ship, sprinting past them, knocking Leia off balance, the Book dropping a few steps down. _The Jedi will take care of him._ Han thought bitterly. His eyes were drawn to the middle of the room where Luke was and he fumed.

* * *

"Luke!" _Han_. He ran down the steps of the chamber but was pushed back against the stone steps by Vader's Force push.   
" _No, leave him alone!_ " He begged as Vader advanced on Han, who was dazed. "No!" Luke wasn't sure of what happened next. He remembered willing his restraints to release him and they did. He remembered willing Vader to fall back towards him and he did. He looked down at his hands and held them towards Vader threateningly.  
" _You have the Force, Luke._ " He said, almost in reverence. " _Come with me, I can help you to wield it._ " Several more mummies came bursting out of the entrance, grabbing Han, Leia and Chewie. He rolled his eyes. _Not more mummies._  
" _A minute ago you were willing to kill me._ " Luke hissed out. " _Forgive me if I don't trust you._ " The mummies who had his friends and sister stuck their weapons dangerously close to their necks. " _Let them go. Anakin Skywalker would._ "  
" _Anakin Skywalker was weak and foolish and I destroyed him._ " Vader pulled out his lightsaber but didn't attack immediately. " _Love made him weak._ "  
" _Love makes you strong._ " Luke contradicted. " _I am the proof of that._ " He glanced at Han. " _I couldn't let you hurt him because I loved him._ " Leia struggled enough to break free, grabbing the mummy's lightsaber and using it to savagely take off it's head. Chewie and Han followed suit but Vader was too distracted to notice.  
" _Are you trying to say I didn't love Padme?_ " Vader growled and Luke shook his head.  
" _I think you were obsessed with keeping her._ " Luke said. " _That's not the same thing. If you loved her, you wouldn't have left her for this._ " He gestured around him. " _You would have stayed to raise your children._ " Leia had the Book of the Light back in her arms by the time he had finished speaking. Chewie was holding it for her as she searched for a passage. Vader turned away from Luke to where he was looking and growled out in anger. Luke tried to take the lightsaber away from Vader but it wouldn't work. _Go figure._ He rammed into him instead, knocking him off of his feet.

"Luke!" Leia saw his position and he shook his head.  
"Find the passage which tells us how to ki-" His throat tightened as Vader choked him. The pressure was quickly released as he was hit over the head with a rock by Han. Han pulled Luke to his feet but didn't have time to say anything as Vader went for them again. Together they fought against him, even though it was difficult.

"Hurry up, Leia!" Chewie rocked on his feet, looking at Han and Luke.   
"You're not helping." She said in a singsong voice, turning the page. Chewie was itching to get into the fight, to help his friends but he knew that he couldn't. He rushed Leia silently, bouncing on his feet faster before she slammed her hand down against a particular passage.  
"You find it?" He asked and she shrugged.  
"No, but it's the next best thing."

* * *

Han threw one of the mummy's lightsabers to Luke as they started fighting with more vigour, believing they had more of a chance. Vader deflected their moves with ease but he was still in defense stance which made Luke smirk. _We have a chance._ They had pushed Vader up against the slabs when Luke sliced off his hand. He screamed in pain and Luke recoiled. There was a lull in the fighting as Luke stared at the hand he had just separated from Vader's body. Han pushed Luke back as Vader swung at him again, blocking him with the lightsaber.  
"What did I tell about staying away from my guy?" Han asked, sarcastically. Luke scoffed as he swung the lightsaber. An unearthly scream rang out and everyone paused.   
"Gotcha." Leia murmured as the image of Darth Bane on a chariot came down the stairs next to them. Vader got up and stood in the middle of the room, welcoming the ghost. However, when the chariot didn't stop, Vader shrunk away, protesting.  
" _No!_ " The chariot ran through him and took an image of him away. He ran after it, arms wide open as the chariot disappear through the wall. He turned to where Leia was, furious.  
"I thought you said it would kill him!" Chewie shouted at her. Han struck Vader with the lightsaber and he hissed, blood appearing on his shirt.   
"He's mortal." Leia told them and Han smirked as he shoved the lightsaber through Vader's chest.   
"This is for touching Luke." He pulled the lightsaber out and watched Vader fell quietly, almost sadly. Luke rested a hand on Han's shoulder, pulling him away.

"Help me." He turned towards the corpse on the slab, smoothing down their hair.  
"Luke...?" Han asked, tired. _He'd had enough for one day._  
"It's my mother. Vader took her corpse and I will not disrespect her any further." Han nodded, solemnly, picking up the dead body as Luke wrapped a cloth around her, covering her. He then picked her up and Leia stepped forward, stroking her covered head.  
"Mother." She whispered and that was all she needed. She turned, leading the way out.

Getting out was difficult, considering that immediately after they'd left the temple, the city had started to collapse in on itself. Luke found it difficult to run with his mother in his arms but he was determined. _He would not lose her again._ He almost tripped once or twice but Chewie dragged him back up to his feet until they had exited the city. They didn't stop running until they had reached the top of the dune, Luke looked back, at the remains of the city swallowing itself, with his father dead in its ruins. He should have felt regret, or pity, or sadness. But all he had was numbness. He wanted to go home. He looked back to Leia, who was pushing a dead Jabba's body away and talking to a Jedi, to Han and Chewie who were trying to calm the camels down and smiled. _They'd be okay._

* * *

_London, England. Two months later._

"Why was the Book of the Dark and the Book of the Living's locations mixed up?" A reporter asked and more cameras flashed. Luke was stunned for a second but Han put a discreet hand on the small of his back, comforting him.  
"We could assume that this was the work of the Jedi." Leia replied, easily. "Or we could put it down to a common misunderstanding."  
"Did you find anything else in the city?" Another reporter asked.   
"Nothing but vicious scarab beetles and a sunburn." Han quipped and there was scattered laughter.  
"And fifty million pounds worth of treasure." Chewie added.  
"And knowledge." Luke tacked on, thinking about Vader.  
"What will you do with your fortune?" Another reporter asked Luke in particular.   
"I think..." He paused, feeling Han's hand. "I think I will continue my pursuit of knowledge." He looked at his family, Leia, Han and Chewie standing next to him, with Ashoka and Obi-Wan standing off to the side. "There are many young archaeologists lacking in funds and I want to help them." Han rolled his eyes and threw his arms over his shoulders.  
"What a bore, isn't he?" He asked, making the reporters laugh. "I plan on living the high life in my mansion." Luke rolled his eyes. It continued like that for a while with the reporters asking questions and the group taking turns to answer, with the occasional injection of witty banter. By the time they had gotten home, Luke was exhausted. He had drifted on the way home, the dreary English weather lulling him to sleep. He had woken back up as the driver pulled up into the driveway of their mansion and Luke scoffed. _We live in a bloody mansion - what is my life?_ He smiled, tired.

"What is it?" Leia asked him, nudging him slightly.  
"We live in a mansion." He laughed out, closing his eyes to let sleep overtake him again.  
"Okay, time for you to get to bed." Han grunted as he pulled Luke out of the car and slung him over his shoulder.  
"Han, let me go!" He protested weakly. "I have to approve several hundred applications for my archeo-"  
" _After_ you take a nap." Han interrupted, carrying him up the stairs and into his quarters.   
"But, the applications-" Luke asked, already drifting back. Han laid him down on the bed and took off his shoes.   
"Not right now." He brought Luke's blankets up to his chin before kissing Luke's forehead, tenderly. "I'll be back later." He said but Luke was already snoring quietly. Han shook his head, infinitely amused by this man.

He knew within two weeks tops, Luke would be begging to go back to Egypt, complaining that England was too cold for him and he wanted to lead one of his groups of young archeologists on a dig. Han also knew that he would willingly follow him to the ends of the earth, if he so asked. He picked up a photoframe which held the article which credited them for the discovery of Malachor. He ran his hands over their names; _Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca Kashyyyk, Biggs Darklighter (deceased), Wedge Antilles (deceased) and Dax Ralter (deceased)._ Luke was adamant about including them in the credit and sending their shares to their families. _He was a man of honour._ Luke shifted in his bed, holding a hand out towards Han.

"Are you just going to stand there all day or are you coming to bed?" He asked and Han rolled his eyes.   
"If you wanted me to get into bed with you, all you had to was ask." Han sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes, shedding most of his clothes as well.  
"As if I'd even had to ask if I wanted _that_. You're always up for it." Luke retorted and Han snickered, knowing he was right. He dove under the covers and grabbed Luke, pulling him closer. They were quiet for a while, looking out of the window in front of them, bright daylight still streaming in. Luke stroked Han's arm as he draped it over him and Han pressed his lips to the space behind Luke's ear. "I'm cold." Luke whispered and Han breathed out a laugh, ruffling his hair slightly. _And so it begins._

  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe this chapter has no typos. But I don't trust myself enough to make that claim.


End file.
